Feeling as if Cleveland County could use a little global warming today?

Kidding aside, the single-digit nighttime temperatures are nothing to joke about. The rare kind of cold the area is experiencing calls for serious measures to protect you, your friends and loved ones from the dangers of Mother Nature.

Stay inside if at all possible. If you must go outside, be prepared.

Frostbite and hypothermia can happen quickly. Layer up, wear gloves and keep your head covered to keep warmth inside your body. And get back inside hastily.

Shivering, confusion, slurred speech, drowsiness — all are of signs of hypothermia. Keep an eye out for any of these signs if you are working outside today, and ask your colleagues to do the same. And if you do notice them, get medical attention for the affected person pronto.

Our northern U.S. neighbors have more experience with cold temperatures than those of us in the South, but we can take a few tips from their winter routine.

Keep a blanket in your car in case you wind up stuck on the roadside, even for a short time. Keep plenty of gas in the tank of your vehicle and keep your mobile phone charged.

The key to coming through an emergency is to prepare in advance.

We hope you readied your home for last night’s cold, so we won’t offer advice on that front. Same for pet owners, whose loving hearts surely took the right precaution.

But today’s slight warmth — can you really call a predicted high of 26 warm? — offers an opportunity between two frigid nights to check on elderly friends and neighbors, those who are sick and those with a young child.

These are the people most susceptible to the dangers of extremely cold temperatures.

A phone call, a visit, a little “care package” of hot chocolate mix or soup delivered to the door can mean so much to someone living alone. New moms without support can always use a helping hand, especially those who are very young and inexperienced in life.

If the weather forecasters are on target, this all will be behind us by tomorrow with a return to more seasonable daytime highs and nighttime lows, still cold but back into the double digits.

Let’s hope all their sophisticated forecasting equipment has it right and the unusual cold moves out of our area after its two-night stay.

For today and tonight, however, be prepared and be cautious. Really cold weather is something to take seriously.